University of Kansas

Client Background

Founded in 1954, The University of Kansas has become a major public research and teaching institution of 28000 students and 2600 faculty on 5 campuses (Lawrence, Kansas City, Overland Park, Wichita, and Salina). Its diverse elements are united by their mission to educate leaders, build healthy communities, and make discoveries that change the world. KU has 13 schools, including the only schools of pharmacy and medicine in the state, and offers more than 360 degree programs. Particularly strong degree programs are special education, city management, sppech-language pathology, rural medicine, clinical child pyschology, ursing, occupational therapy, and social welfare. Students, split almost equally between women and men, come from all 50 states and 105 countries and are about 15 percent multicultural. The Univeristy Honors Programs is nationally recognized and KU has produced 26 Rhodes Scholars, more than all other Kansas schools combined.

The Challenge

The University of Kansas team in charge of sourcing and recruitment was encumbered by a current sourcing and recruiting system which was not sufficient for meeting their specific and highly technical talent acquisition needs. The current system presented major usability challenges for users which negatively impacted user adoption and utilization. A major concern for their organization was the candidate experience. The current system created a negative recruiting experience for the candidates and did not allow for sufficient candidate relationship touch points throughout the process. After having implemented the current system and experiencing these undesirable results, the KU organization was hesitant to undergo another system implementation due to internal org concerns and dmenads. The KU team needed a solid, dependable solution which would both improve the candidate experience and allow for increased candidate “hand-holding” throughout the recruitment process combined with a seamless implementation.

Client Profile

• Large public research university with 28,000 students

• 2,600 faculty across five campuses

• Offers 360+ degree programs

• Nationally recognized academic and honors programs

• Diverse, global student population

The Project

The University of Kansas engaged HRchitect to address significant challenges within its talent acquisition function. The university’s existing recruiting system was not equipped to support its highly specialized hiring needs, resulting in poor usability, low adoption, and a fragmented candidate experience.

A major concern was the lack of meaningful engagement with candidates throughout the recruiting lifecycle. The existing system provided a one-size-fits-all application process, limiting the university’s ability to tailor interactions based on role type or candidate profile. This led to inefficiencies for the talent acquisition team and a subpar experience for applicants.

Understanding the organization’s hesitation to undergo another system implementation, HRchitect focused on delivering a dependable, high-impact solution with minimal disruption. The team began by analyzing the end-to-end candidate journey and identifying opportunities to enhance both usability and engagement.

HRchitect redesigned the application and offer processes to create a more personalized experience for candidates. Application workflows were tailored based on applicant type, enabling more relevant and efficient data collection. Enhancements to the candidate portal introduced clearer communication, improved transparency, and more consistent touchpoints throughout the hiring process.

Additionally, HRchitect streamlined system architecture by consolidating candidate data into a single applicant tracking system. This eliminated reliance on multiple external tools, reduced manual effort, and improved data accuracy. With a more efficient system in place, the talent acquisition team was able to shift focus from administrative tasks to strategic engagement with hiring managers, faculty, and candidates.

Key Benefits

• Streamlined and improved candidate experience

• Consolidation of multiple systems into one ATS

• Reduced manual processes and duplicate data entry

• Increased efficiency for talent acquisition team

• Improved system usability and adoption

• Enhanced candidate engagement and communication

• Greater accuracy in candidate data and qualifications

• Scalable recruiting processes to support future growth

The Results

By partnering with HRchitect, the University of Kansas successfully transformed its talent acquisition processes and technology. The newly implemented system and redesigned workflows significantly improved the candidate experience by enabling more tailored and engaging interactions throughout the recruiting lifecycle.

By consolidating multiple systems into a single applicant tracking system, the university reduced manual processes, eliminated duplicate data entry, and improved overall data accuracy. These efficiencies allowed the talent acquisition team to shift their focus from administrative tasks to more strategic initiatives, including increased collaboration with hiring managers and more personalized candidate engagement.

The enhanced usability and functionality of the new system led to stronger user adoption across the organization. Ultimately, the university now has a scalable, efficient recruiting process that better supports its complex hiring needs and positions the organization for continued success in attracting top talent.